Homemade 'Hummer' Lets Chinese Chef Show Some Swagger

By night, Qu Zhibo is a chef and restaurant owner from Zigong City in China's Sichuan Province. By day, however, he's “Qu Zhibo, Hummer Driver!”... or something vaguely resembling a Hummer. Qu designed and constructed his 1-of-a-kind, 4-wheeled, 8-tired tribute to American rolling stock with GM's mighty military machine in mind.

Kudos to Qu and all, but calling this custom kart a Hummer is like dubbing your pet iguana “Godzilla”. To paraphrase a quote from a well-known British comedy ensemble, “Mate, this truck wouldn't 'hum' if you put four million volts through it!”

Maybe so, but that doesn't faze Qu Zhibo the slightest. “The kart took me 3 years of hard work, I spent days and nights working things out and designing,” explained the racy restauranteur. “I am obsessed with it.” Qu's motorcycle-engined mini-Hummer can hit 30 km/h (18.5 mph) on a straightaway – possibly going downhill – and according to Qu “it is kind of swaggering to drive.”

Qu's car evokes comparisons with another homemade Chinese vehicle that received a flood of publicity last year: a bright yellow Lamborghini Countach knockoff (left) designed and built by Chan Jinmiao of Hunan Province.

Chan spent about about 20,000 yuan ($3,075) and a year of his time crafting the mini-supercar. Qu, on the other hand, spent just 4,000 yuan ($775) though the demands of his restaurant caused construction to drag on for 3 years.

Ironically, both the ersatz Hummer and Lambo are not allowed on China's roads. “When I lend it to other people,” says Qu, “I always warn them repeatedly to keep off the road.” Indeed, with dual rubber back AND front, Qu's Hummer-wannabe would seem to be a better bet when driven off-road. It's fun to drive as well, according to a reporter who interviewed Qu and took his pride & joy out for a short spin and stated: “Hey, it is kind of swaggering.”(via China Hush, Netease, and China Blog)